“Honestly,” Eunji says, looking even more annoyed than both Mina and Lizzie. In fact, she doesn’t just seem annoyed. She looks legitimately upset. “What gives you the right to just take whatever you want?” she practically spits. Then her brows are knitted together for a moment, as if that’s not quite what she meant to say. Mina gives her an odd look, then Eunji mumbles, “I mean, Mina’s spotlight. You can’t just take it.”

Before I can open my mouth to say something to fix this, my eight groupmates walk into the event hall without me.

SIXTEEN

I spend the whole premiere screening half watching Mina cry over Song Geonwu after a car accident leaves him with amnesia, and half watching real-life Mina three seats down from me out of the corner of my eye. When we first sat down, she was still fuming. But luckily for me, once the film got underway, she seemed to calm down. Probably distracted by watching herself on the big screen. Actually, even I have to admit that Mina’s pretty good. I’m glad she took the chance and pursued this, even though she knew her father wouldn’t like it.

Farther down the row I hear stifled sobs. Eunji has tears streaming down her face. I mean, sure, this moment when Geonwu tells his father he’ll never forget him is moving, but not that moving. Between her tears now and her weird outburst earlier, something more has to be going on. She’s definitely been acting a little off lately. Since our trainee days, she’s always followed in Mina’s wake, but I never got that same cutting edge from her that I did from Lizzie. I actually always felt a little sorry for her. She’s kind of like Sunhee—she doesn’t know her own worth. She really is one of the most strikingly beautiful girls in the group, but she still feels like she has to latch herself onto Mina and Lizzie in order to hold power over the rest of us.

I may not be able to fix the situation with Lane Crawford tonight, or sort through my feelings about Alex and our relationship, but I can try to connect with Eunji.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t even realize that the movie is over until I’m startled by the whooping and cheering from our row when Mina’s name flashes on-screen in the credits.

At the after-party, I decide to seek Eunji out.

“Can we talk?” I say, gently touching her shoulder.

At first I think she’s going to shrug me off, but after a beat of hesitation, she concedes with a sigh. I lead her to a plush navy-blue velvet banquette in a quiet corner of the event space.